Pile rug and rug base



June 19, 1956 J. J. PETROSKE 2,750,652

FILE RUG AND RUG BASE Filed May 28, 1953 2 Sheuts-She-et 1 Tlc l.

INVENTOR. z/amv A PETRflS/(E EF- f June 19, 1956 PETROSKE 2,750,652

PILE RUG AND RUG BASE Filed May 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.z/mwz/ Pzreosz:

' Arm/ms) PILE RUG AND RUG BASE John J. Petroske, Methuen, Mass.,assignor to P'atchogue- Plymouth Mills Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application May 28, 1953, Serial No. 358,077

4 Claims. (Cl. 28-80) This invention relates to an improved method ofmaking pile, or looped pile, rugs, and to improvements in pile and inlooped pile rugs and in the base structure therefor.

Rugs have been manufactured with a base structure consisting of juteyarns which are woven to form the base structure at the same time thatthe surface material of the rug is incorporated into the rug to form therug body.

When jute yarns are used in the warp of a rug, the said yarns areslashed or treated to prevent the jute from linting, as well as toprevent the lint from forming knots, rings, and slubs, which tend toprevent the jute yarns from passing through the reeds and heddles of theloom. The lint forms slubs on the jute yarns, and the fine particles oflint float around in the air and settle in and around the loom, thuscreating a dangerous fire hazard, so

that a spark, as from an electric motor, may ignite some of theseparticles of lint and start a fire. Such fires have actually occurreddue to a spark from an electric motor igniting these fine particles oflint.

Rugs have also been made with a cotton duck base,

but ordinarily cotton duck is relatively light in weight and has no bodyto it, so that rugs made with a rug-base of a conventional cotton ducktend to curl up and kick up, and to prevent such a base from curling upor kicking up it would be necessary to use a relatively heavy cottonduck and such a rug would be so much more expensive to produce as toprice said rug out .of the market.

One object of this invention is to substantially reduce the fire hazardwhen jute yarn is employed in the manufacture of rugs.

Another object is to retain'the low production cost advantage of rugshaving a base structure woven with jute yarn, without incurring the firehazard formerly incident thereto.

Another object is an economical method of making a looped, or pile, rug,embodying a preformed base structure comprising natural or untreatedjute yarns, without the dangerous fire hazard formerly incident to theuse of jute yarns.

Another object is in inexpensive pile, or looped pile, rug, embodying aprefabricated base structure comprising natural or untreated jute yarns,wherein the surface material is effectively bonded to the base structureby a water-insoluble adhesive, such as latex.

Another object is an inexpensive looped pile rug having a preformed basestructure comprising fibre yarns (twisted paper threads) which causethe-rug to lie flat so that it does not curl up or kick up when spreadon the floor.

Another object is a prefabricated base structure for an inexpensive,pile, or looped pile, rug, comprising natural or untreated jute yarnsand fibre yarns (twisted paper threads) interwoven to produce animproved textile fabric, as a new article of manufacture. 1

Other objects will appear from the detailed description which follows.

In accordance'with this invention, the rug-base is pre- Patented June19, 1956 fabricated in a loom by weaving it as a textile fabric havingfibre yarns (twisted paper threads) in the warp, and natural oruntreated jute yarns in the filler, the surface material in the gray isthereafter looped around and between the jute yarns as by a loopingmachine, the surface material is thereafter bonded to the rug base withan adhesive which becomes insoluble when dried or cured and also forms anon-skid surface coating on the back of the rug, and the rug in the grayis subsequently dyed in any color as and when required, before shipment.

One embodiment of the invention is shown, by way of illustration, in thedrawing, consisting of two sheets of nine figures, numbered Figs. 1 to9, both inclusive, wherein:

Fig. l is a blown-up view of a paper ribbon twisted to form a fibre yarnor twisted paper thread, which is used in the warp of the rug-base, orrug-base structure.

Fig. 2 is a blown-up view of a filler yarn or thread, as it is spun outof untreated or natural jute.

Fig. 3 is a blown-up plan view, but not to scale, of a fragment of aprefabricated rug-base structure embodying my invention, which is wovenfrom the fibre yarns of Fig. l and the untreated or natural jute yarnsof Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a blown-up view, but not to scale, showing some of the warpand filler yarns of the rug-base structure displaced by the needles ofthe looping machine as the looped pile is formed.

Fig. 5 is a blown-up cross sectional view, not to scale, taken along theline 5-5 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figs. 6 and 7 are blown-up cross sectional views, not to scale, taken asalong the lines 66, and 77, respectively, of Fig. 4, looking in thedirection of their correspondingly numbered arrows, and showing how thebonding agent may be applied.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of one form of apparatus which may be usedin carrying out certain steps in the method; and i Fig. 9 is a blown-upcross sectional view of a fragment of finished rug with part of thelooped pile omitted.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts, throughout theseveral figures of the drawing.

The warp threads, of which one is shown in Fig. 1, are made of wetstrength paper, and in the process of making the paper, the paper stockis preferably treated by adding thereto an ingredient such as melamineor urea formaldehyde. The wet strength paper is cut or otherwisesubdivided into relatively narrow ribbons 20 (Fig. l); ribbonsapproximately one-quarter inch Wide, give good results. The wet strengthpaper is also treated With a water-repellent solution, and the paperribbon 20 is twisted in the known manner into a fibre yarn or twistedpaper thread 21 (Fig. 1). The water-repellent solution may be applied tothe paper as the paper ribbon is being converted by twisting it into ayarn or thread 21. The solution may be applied by means of a pick-uproller (not shown), or in any other known manner, When the fibre yarnshave been twisted, they are wound on a beam to form a warp beam (notshown) in the known manner.

The filler consists of natural or untreated jute, spun into yarns, suchas the yarn 22 (Fig. 2). The jute which is used in the yarns 22 need notbe slashed, because the yarn 22, suitably wound as in the form of a cop,is inserted in the shuttle, hence there is no risk that the lint of thejute will form slubs or create a fire hazard. The expressions untreatedjute, and natural jute, as used herein refer to jute which has not beenslashed.

The warp beam, consisting of the fibre yarns 21, and the filler,consisting of the natural jute yarn 22, are interwoven into a textilefabric (Fig. 3), to produce the prefabricated base structure, orrug-base 23, for the rug.

The rug-base 23 may be loom width if desired, and may be woven withselvages d5, 45 defining each of its running edges, to form two finishednon-ravelling selvage edges 45, 45 runnin lengthwise of the rug-base 23.

The fibre yarn 21 is a much finer thread than the con ventionalpaper-fibre yarns, and the fineness of said fibre yarns '21 makes itpossible to weave the textile fabric forming rug base 23 (Fig. 3) withabout twenty warp threads to the inch, so that the rug-base 23 is ofmuch finer texture than the conventional paper-fibre textile fabric ofthe prior art. Said textile fabric (Fig. 3) is an open weave which isloose enough to leave open inter stices 24, 24 between the interwovenwarps and fillters. It is desirable to retain these interstices 24, 24between the warps 21 and fillers 22 of the textile fabric, hence thefabric is not calendered, because calendering of a textile fabric closesup the interstices in the body of the textile material. Because theyarns 21, 21 are composed of twisted paper ribbons, the said yarns arerelatively stiff as compared with the jute yarns 22, 22, so that thefibre yarns 21 give body to the rug-base 23, and to the rug when it isfinished. The fibre yarns 23, 21 are stiff enough to make rug-base 23lie flat and to prevent the finished rug from curling up or kicking up.As the rugbase material 23 tends to, shrink when the rug is beingsubjected to the finishing. processes, the loom width of the rug-basematerial should include a suitable allowance to. compensate for theshrinkage which will occur in the textile fabric as it is being furtherprocessed into the. finished rug or floor-covering material.

As the rug-base material 23 is woven, it may either be fed, loom width,into a looping machine, as a part of a continuous process, or it may bewound up as it is woven in the loom, removed from the loom in the formof a roll, and transported to another mill for further processing.

The looping, machine is provided with a row of looping needles 25, (Fig.4), which extend across the width of the looping machine at suitablyspaced intervals. Each needle 25 is threaded with one or more yarns orthreads 26-, 26 (Fig. 6.), and when the looping machine is operated, thelooping needles 25, 25 pass through the interstices 24, 24 from. backtofr-ont ofthe rug-base 23, and back again, to loop the yarns 26 over,around, and between, the filler yarns, 22, 22 and between the warpthreads 21, 21 to.form thelooped pile 2'7, 27 and the rows of connectingloops 3d, (Figs. 6' and- 7).

The points of:the.looping-.needles 25, 25- enlarge those intersticesthrough which. they passby-spreading the warp and the fillersthreadswhich enclose the said interstices to displace certain. of the warpthreads cross-wise, and certain of. the filler. threads lengthwise,ofthe rug-base 23, to enlarge certain of the interstices 24, 24 arrangedat regularly spaced intervals, andthus form the larger openings 28, 28(Fig. 4), which are large enough to accommodate the double. thickness ofeach of the yarns 26' as each suc ceeding loop 27 is formed by the backand'forth motion of the needles 25, 25 (Fig. 4). The displacement of thewarp and filler threads separates them into groups of two or morepillared threads, the warp-pillars extending lengthwise, and the fillerpillars extending crosswise, of the rug-base 23. Since the enlargedopenings 28, 28 are produced by the displacement of certain of thewarpand filler threads, the interstices 24, 24 which originally existed(Fig. 3) between the-warp and filler threadswhich weretpillaredwh'enrdisplaced by the motion 'of'the loopin'g needles 25, ZSa-nd byinserting-the double thickness of the yarns 26, aresubstantially-reduced if not entirely eliminated.

The looseopten weave of the textile fabric and'the ease with which thewarp andfiller threads are displaced and pillared by the passage ofthelooping n'eedles 25, 25 and the yarns 26, 26, not only prevents thebreakingof the looping needles and of the warp threads 21, fille'r'threads 22, and yarns 26, but it also substantially reduces frictionbetween the needles and the warp andfiller threads and the yarns, sothat the needles do not become overheated and lose temper or becomesoft. These are very important advantages because they effect a verysubstantial saving in the time otherwise require to repair brokenthreads and yarns and to replace softened or broken needles; it alsoreduces the damages and seconds which result when threads, yarns, andneedles, are broken, in the rug making process.

Since the rug-base is not calendered, the interstices 24, 24 formedbetween the warp threads 21 and the filler threads 22 when the basestructure 23 is woven, remain in the rug-base until modified by thepassage of the looping needles and the yarns 26, 26, and since theslippage between the papervfibre threads 21 and the natural jute yarns22 allows the interstices 24, 24 between them to be readily enlarged bythe passage of the needles 25, 25 and the yarns 26, 26 the possibilitythat the needles may break the yarns of the rug-base 23. or the yarns26, as or that the rug-base may break or soften the needles, isminimised.

The yarns 26, 26 from which the looped pile 27, 27 is made to form thesurface of the rug, is preferably furnished in the gray, so that whenthe yarn as is looped through the rug-base 23:, the rug is produced inthe gray, and; may be retained in the gray and in an unfinishedcondition, and subseqently piece dyed to any desired shade or color, orotherwise processed, as circumstances may require.

By producing the rugs in the gray, and by retaining themv in this.unfinished condition, the mill is able to reduce its inventory of rugson hand by a substantial amount, and thus minimize losses due to thecarry over and sale, at reduced prices of substantial quantities ofrugs, dyed in colors which did not prove popular, or which arenolonger-in demand.

The connecting loops, 30, and the looped yarns or looped pile 27, 27lock thepaper-fibre warp yarns 21 and the natural jute filler yarns 22to one another, and when at alaterstage in the process of manufacture,the back of the rug is sprayed, or otherwise coated with awaterinsoluble adhesive such as latex, and the latex is cured, orthe.adhesive isallowed to harden and set, the connecting: loopsfifi betweenthe loops of the looped pile 27 (or other surface material), becomefixed or bonded to the, warp; and filler threads against any possibilityof loosening-up or pulling out the loopedpile 27, 27.

In the process. ofmanufacture at present preferred, the rug-basestructure 23 is woven and then fed into the looping-machine (Fig. 4),and the yarn 26 while in the gray, is looped;through the rug-base 23' bythe looping needles 2.5, ZSend-a coating of latex 29"(Fig. 7) is then.applied in any preferred manner, as by a doctor blade 43' (Fig. 6), andcured, tobondthelooped'pile 27, 27 to the rug-base 23; in themannerhereinafter described, and the goods in rolled up form may then bestored away temporarily ready for; the dyeing operation.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate diagrammatically, how the latex 2,9. (Eig-.-7,), or a synthetic adhesive 41 (Fig. 6) which is insoluble after ithas. once, hardened and set, may be applied: ina liquid or semirliquidcondition to the backs ofthewconnecting loops 30, 3'0. of the loopedpile27, 27 and to the warp threads 21,721 and filler threads 22, 22 of-therug-hase- 23,; The-latex 29, or an equivalent synthetic adhesiva 4-1,while-in a fluid or. freely flowingcondition, i'stextruded from-thehopper'42, to a doctor blade 43 which. spreads thelatex 29; ortheadhesive 41, inacontinuous film or coating over the back of therug-base 2-3 and 'the connecting loops 30, 30.- Thelatex 29, ortheadhesive 41, is sufficiently'fluidto flow into the openings-betweenthe rows of'conn'ecting loops 30', 30 and over the backs of theconnecting loops-'30, 30 and between the loops of the loopedpile 27, 27'and"ov'er the exposed'rear faces of "the pillared warp and" fillerthreads and any intersticespr openings left, between :them tofqrm acontinuous coating or film covering the back of the rug material 31(Fig. 8). If latex is used, it is then suitably cured, and if'anequivalent adhesive is used it is allowed to harden and set, and whenthe latex is cured, or the adhesive is set, as the case may be, itpermanently bonds the backs 30 of the connecting loops of the loopedpile 27, 27 to the paper-fibre warp yarns 21, 21 and to the natural jutefiller yarns 22, 22 and ties them all together, so that the pile cannotloosen up, or pull out, but without impairing the flexibility andsoftness of the looped pile 27, 27 in the slightest degree.

The latex 29, or the adhesive 41, does not penetrate the rug-base 23 tothe pile side of the rug-material 31, and therefore the softness andflexibility of the loops of the looped pile 27, 27 of the finished rug,of which a partial fragment is shown in Fig. 9, is not impaired ordiminished.

When the latex 29 is cured, or the equivalent adhesive 41 is hardenedand set, said latex or adhesive forms a thin, film-like, coating or skin44 (Fig. 9), which covers the back of the rug-base 23 which now formsthe back of the rug material 31. This film-like coating or skin 44 isvermin-proof, moisture-proof, Water-repellent, and nonskid. The bond isso effective, that when the rug-material 31 is cut cross-Wise, the rawedge need not be bound or otherwise treated to prevent unravel-ling,because due to the action of the cured latex, or of the hardenedadhesive, the edge of the rug-material 31 will not unravel, but forms anon-ravelling, self-bonded, edge.

It is advantageous to apply the latex coating 29 as soon as possibleafter the yarn in the gray has been looped by the looping needles 25, 25to form the looped pile 27, 27 and to then cure the latex coating 29 toprovide the surface coating 44, as previously described, because afterthe latex has been cured, the rug material may be handled in theordinary way without any risk of loosening up or pulling out the loopedpile 27, 27 because the looped pile is permanently bonded to therug-base 23 of the rug-material 31. The rug-material 31 which is in thegray, may be piece-dyed as and when required, and in any desired color.

The film-like coating 44 is very durable, and substantially prolongs theuseful life of the rug material 31. The coating 44 is fully flexiblewith the rug material, and will not flake, peel, crack, or craze, whenthe rug material or floor covering is rolled up, folded, flexed, bent,or otherwise manipulated.

By arranging the various steps in the sequence, so that the rug material31 is piece-dyed in the final step of the sequence, the preceding stepsin the process can be arranged to furnish a continuous process of makinga rug in the gray, commencing with the step of weaving the rug-base 23as shown in Fig. 3, after which the rug-base is fed into the loopingmachine where the looping needles 25, 25 (Fig. 4) loop the yarns 26, 26to form the looped pile 27, 27, after which the latex 29, or equivalentadhesive, is applied to the back of the rug-base 23 and cured or set, bypassing it through a curing oven or through the drying oven 40,maintained at curing, or setting, temperature, to complete the rugmaterial 31 in the gray, ready to be piece-dyed at will.

After the rug-base has been woven in the loom, it may be removed fromthe take-up roll of the loom in suitable mill lengths and sold as aseparate article of manufacture, as a rug-base material for a loopedpile rug, in which case the rug-base material 2 3 may be shipped toanother mill to be fed into the looping machine to stitch the loopedpile, and carry out the other steps in the process.

Similarly after the rug-base 23 has been woven and fed into the loopingmachine to form thelooped pile 27, 27, the rug material 31 may be rolledup on the takeup rollers 32 (Fig. 8) in suitable mill lengths, and heldin readiness for such additional finishing steps as may be necessary,such as scouring, bleaching, rinsing, and dyeing. Such of thesefinish-steps as may be necessary, may be performed before or after thelatex is applied and cured.

After the yarn 26 has been looped through the rug-base 23 to form thesurface of the rug material (Fig. 4), the rug material 31 may be rolledup in suitable lengths as it leaves the looping machine upon a suitableroller, such as the roller 32 (Fig. 8), ready for finishing, and the rugmaterial 31 may, in due course, and if necessary, be bleached, scoured,rinsed, and dyed, by feeding the rug material 31 around a series ofidlers, such as the idlers 33, 33, 33, and through a succession of vats,one of which is shown as the vat 34 (Fig. 8), which vat may containeither a scouring agent 35, a bleaching agent 36, a rinsing agent 37, ora dyeing agent 38, according to which of the said steps in the seriesare necessary to satisfy the particular conditions, it being understoodthat if prescoured and/ or pre-bleached, or gray yarn, is used for theyarn 26, one or more of the said steps may be entirely unnecessary, andmay be omitted. Likewise if the yarn 26 is pre-dyed, the dyeing step mayalso be omitted.

It should be understood that the vat 34 is only used to carry out thesevarious steps in their proper sequence, and that after a particular stepin the sequence has been performed, the rug material 31 may be fedbetween the squeeze rolls 39, 39 to wring out the rug material and expelthe excess liquid as the rug material is drawn from the vat and thenpassed through a dryer 40, and then rewound upon another take-up roll32, ready for further processing, or for storage, as conditions mayrequire.

While the device 40 is described as a dryer, it should be understoodthat the device 40 may function either as a dryer or as a curing oven,according to the circumstances, and the temperature employed therein,which temperature may be regulated in the known manner, according to theconditions met. The details of the heating system and the means forcontrolling the temperature thereof, form no part of my invention, andare therefore omitted.

By weaving the rug-base 23 out of much finer gauge paper-fibre warpthreads 21, and natural unslashed jute filler yarns 22, as a separateand distinct prefabricated double selvage base structure before Weavingthe pile by looping the yarns 26 through the rug-base 23, it is entirelypractical either to operate the entire process through all of itsvarious stages as a continuous process and thus produce a double-selvage(loom-width) milllength of piece-dyed carpeting or floor covering readyto be cut into suitable rug lengths at will; or to interrupt the processjust as soon as the rug-base 23 has been woven, and dispose of saidrug-base material at that stage of the process as an article ofmanufacture; or to interrupt the process just as soon as the yarns 26 inthe gray have been looped through the rug-base 23 and to dispose of theresulting product at that stage of the process, as an article ofmanufacture; or to interrupt the process just as soon as the latex 29applied to the backs of the connecting loops 30, 30 of the looped pileand to the back of the rugbase 23, has been cured to bond the warps,fillers, and looped pile together, and to dispose of the resultingproduct at that stage of the process, as an article of manufacture; orto interrupt the process after the product con sisting of the loopedpile 27, 27 bonded to the rug-base has been scoured, bleached, and/orrinsed, ready to be piece-dyed, and to dispose of the resulting productat that stage of the process. So long as the base structure 23 is wovenloom Width with a double selvage 45, 45 all of the subsequent productswill retain said double selvage edge through each and every successivestage of the process whether continuous or intermittent.

While in Fig. 3 the textile material which forms the rug-base 23 iswoven in a twill-weave, it should be understood that other weaves may beemployed in weaving the fibre-yarn warp and untreated or naturaljute-yarn filler, textile fabric rug-base 23, if desired.

Instead of applying the latex or the adhesive by means of a doctorblade, it may be sprayed by means of a spray gun, or it may be appliedby means of a pick-up or a feed roller, or in any other way.

Rugs manufactured by looping the yarns 26', 26 through the fibre andjute rug-base 2,3 woven in accordance with this invention, shrink muchless than rugs woven with a backing made of cotton in accordance withthe prior art.

Other modifications of my invention will, in the light of thisdisclosure, occur to those skilled in the art.

The use of paper fibre warp threadsv and natural jute in the fillerthreads, reduces friction between the Warp and the filler threads whenthey are moved apart by the passage of the looping needles and thelooping of: the yarns 26, 26, and the reduction in friction increasesthe siippage between the warp and the filler threads, and this in turnreduces the friction between the looping needles and the rug-basematerial when the looping needles 2.5, 25 move back and forth through.the rug-base 23 to form the looped pile 27, 27.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tufted pile rug, a woven backing consisting of warp threadsconstituted by twisted ribbons of paper treated to impart wet strengththereto, and filler threads constituted by yarns of jute, said fillerand warp threads being interwoven to form a loose open weave which haswell-defined interstices, and in which there is relatively high slippagebetween the warp and filler threads, whereby in fabrication loopingneedles may pass through said interstices without excessive friction,said Warp threads being stiff relative to said filler threads therebyimparting body to said rug.

2. In a tufted pile rug, as set forth in claim 1,, a filmlike coating ofcured latex formed on the undersurface of said backing.

3. A tufted pile rug comprising a woven backing consisting of warpthreads constituted by twisted ribbons of paper treated to impart wetstrength thereto, and filler threads constituted by yarns of jute,s'ai'd filler and warp threads being interwoven to form a loose openweave which has Well-defined interstices and in which there isrelatively high slippage between the warp and filler threads, whereby infabrication looping needles may pass through said interstices withoutexcessive friction, said warp threads being stiff relative to saidfiller threads thereby imparting body to said rug; and yarns tuftedthrough said backing to, form pile loops above said backing andconnecting loops'beneath said backing.

4. A tufted rug, as, set forth in claim 3, further including a film-likecoating of cured latex formed on the undersurface of said backing tobond said connecting loops to said backing.

References Citiedin the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,765,512 Waite June, 24, 193.0

1,816,574 Foster July 28, 1931 2,007,078 Crabtree July 2, 1935 2,028,872Kellogg Ian. 28, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,1'64 Great Britain of 1189222,627 Great Britain of 1906

1. IN A TUFTED PILE RUG, A WOVEN BACKING CONSISTING OF WRAP THREADSCONSTITUTED BY TWISTED RIBBONS OF PAPER TREATED TO IMPART WET STRENGTHTHERETO, AND FILLER THREADS CONSTITUTED BY YARNS OF JUTE, SAID FILLERAND WARP THREADS BEING INTERWOVEN TO FORM A LOOSE OPEN WEAVE WHICH HASWELL-DEFINED INTERSTICES AND IN WHICH THERE IS RELATIVELY HIGH SLIPPAGEBETWEEN THE WARP AND FILLER THREADS, WHEREBY IN FABRICATION LOOPINGNEEDLES MAY PASS THROUGH SAID INTERSTICES WITHOUT EXCESSIVE FRICTION,SAID WRAP THREADS BEING STIFF RELATIVE TO SAID FILLER THREADS THEREBYIMPACTING BODY TO SAID RUG.